The Tall Handsome One
by Impala-Dreamer
Summary: The boys saved Blanca's life, now she's got to deal with that.
1. Chapter 1

**My first ever attempt at a fanfic. It began as a stand alone chapter, and turned into a four part. It gets better as it goes I think. Hope you enjoy it, reviews are awesome :)**

* * *

Blanca sat in silence in the backseat of the long black Chevy Impala. They were stopped at a Gas n' Sip outside of some town she didn't know the name of. The two men who had rescued her were outside; the shorter one pumping gas and the tall handsome one with long hair was inside getting some food. Blanca sat watching him through the front windshield. Her head was throbbing from where the man had slammed her against the wall repeatedly and her entire body ached. She looked down and saw her wrists were raw and bloody from the ropes and she knew her neck was still bleeding: she could feel the warm redness drip slowly down her collarbone, soaking the neck and shoulders of her flowy orange dress.

The men reappeared and got back in the car, the rusty hinges of the doors squeaking as they opened. The tall one in the passenger seat turned to look at Blanca.

"Hey, you're awake." He said. "You should drink something." He handed her a large bottle of water, which she took cautiously.

"Who are you guys? Where are we going?" She asked, cracking the cap off the water and drinking it greedily.

"Oh, right, you were passed out. Sorry." He said smiling reassuringly at her. "My name's Sam, and this is my brother Dean." he gestured to the driver. "You're Blanca, right?"

"Yes. Blanca. Hi. What the hell is going on? Who are you guys? What the hell was that thing? " She asked, suddenly frightened again.

Dean put the car into gear and pulled away from the gas station. "You better give her the talk Sammy." He said glancing at Blanca in the mirror, seeing her begin to panic.

"Well…there's no easy way to tell you this, but um…those things were vampires. Vampires and monsters and demons and angels and God and the Devil, they're all real. We, my brother and I, we hunt monsters and kill them. And hopefully save some people along the way." Sam said calmly, choosing his words carefully so as not to increase Blanca's pending panic attack. She stared back at him blankly. The words were getting into her brain, but not really registering. All she could see was the amazing brown and green swirl of color in his eyes. After a moment Sam continued: "We've been hunting a nest of vamps for the last two weeks, these guys were really nasty, and we stumbled upon the house tonight and there you were. Thankfully we got to you in time." Sam went on, watching Blanca and slowly realizing she wasn't breathing. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey, Blanca? Hello?" She stared at him in utter shock.

Suddenly something snapped and Blanca began breathing again, but hard and fast. Her pupils dilated and her eyes glazed over. The memories of the past two days of captivity came flooding back to her, slamming into her, triggering a full on panic attack. She gasped for air and reached out, hands grabbing the back of Dean's seat and the door handle trying to open it.

"Whoa there!" Dean yelled upon feeling the hands on his seat.

"Dean, pull over." Sam said. "Pull over!"

Dean obeyed, pulling the Impala over to the side of the dark road. Blanca's fingers finally found the door handle and opened it. She leapt from the bench seat and ran straight across the highway into the darkness.

"Well, crap." Dean said. "You try to help people and they run away from you. Every time." He shook his head and watched her run.

Sam bolted from the car and followed her. A passing car blew it's horn as it narrowly missed him as he ran across the black road to Blanca. When he caught up to her, she was standing in the middle of an empty field. The grass was as tall as her waist, and she was doubled over with her hands on her thighs. She was breathing slowly and raggedly.

Sam put his hands out and approached her cautiously. His voice was full of concern and care when he spoke: "Hey, are you alright?"

Blanca stood up and blinked at the tall man in front of her. She threw her hands up in the air, "No I'm not alright! How the hell could I be alright? Are you kidding me? Some dude attacks me as I'm walking home from work and kidnaps me and ties me up for days and cuts me and beats me and then you show up and you're – what are you - hunters? Is that even a thing? And demons are real and vampires and how could I be ok? How can anyone be ok? What is happening to me?!" She stopped, gasping for air and her kneed buckled.

Quickly Sam jumped towards her, catching her before she fully fell. He cradled her in his arms, hugging her to him. She grabbed at his canvas coat and pushed her face into his strong chest. She sobbed loudly and Sam brushed her black hair down and out of her face whispering to her "Shhh… It's ok. Blanca, it's ok. You'll be ok. I've got you." Sam held on to her tightly, not letting her fall. He felt her relax and her breathing slowed. He looked down at her face and saw she had passed out again, her body and mind exhausted from the horrible ordeal. Sam hooked one arm under her legs, lifting her bridal style and walked back towards the car.

"She ok?" Dean asked as his brother laid Blanca down in the backseat, resting her head on his lap.

"No." He answered, staring down at her sleeping face. He then noticed the blood oozing from her neck and the large bruises swelling on her cheek and arms. "We need to get to a motel." He told his brother.

Dean smirked. "Really dude, she's out cold."

"No you ass, she's hurt. She needs to rest and I need to clean up this wound. Just drive." Sam said, sending a nasty glare to his older brother in the rearview mirror.

"Bitch." Dean said.

"Jerk." replied Sam.

* * *

Blanca opened her eyes a few hours later when she felt something burning her wrist. "Ouch!" She whimpered.

Sam was sitting next to her on the motel room bed, applying peroxide to her wrists with a cotton ball. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It's gonna sting. Just hold still, I'm almost done."

Blanca watched Sam quietly, trying not to cry again as his long strong fingers cleaned her wounds, wrapping them in gauze. He was very pretty, she thought, and he smelled good, like Old Spice and musk and cheap soap. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, the smell of him making her dizzy. Or maybe it was the head trauma. Either way, she didn't mind. She was suddenly calm, Sam's nearness relaxing her, making her feel safe.

"There, all done." Sam said, smiling down at her. Blanca looked at her wrists and nodded in approval.

"Thanks" she said. "For rescuing me and everything too I guess." Blanca sat up slowly. As she did, her head began to spin again and she wobbled. Sam put his hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Blanca, you ok?" His brows were furrowed with worry and his hazel eyes looked deep into hers. Blanca blinked and without thinking fell forward and pressed her lips onto his. Sam stiffened, surprised at first, and then melted into the kiss, returning it with a sweet pressure that took Blanca's breath away. She reached up and ran her hands through his long hair, pulling him closer. Sam sighed into her and scooted closer on the bed till their hips were touching. He wrapped his arms around her, one hand cradling the back of Blanca's head, and pulled her close until their bodies were flush against each other. They kissed hot and wet, Blanca's lips parted allowing Sam access and his tongue ran slowly over hers, causing her to shiver. She ran a hand down his chest and elicited a similar reaction from Sam.

The motel room door slammed open and Dean entered carrying two fast food bags and a tray with three soda cups on it.

Sam and Blanca separated immediately, and Blanca sat back on the bed embarrassed to be caught; her cheeks flushed and pink.

"Well," Dean said laughing, "I guess you're feeling better."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been six months since the Winchesters had dropped Blanca off at her home and driven off into the sunset.

Sam had given her a card with his cell number scrawled on the back, and she took it, folding the fake FBI card carefully and shoving it in her pocket. She never expected to use it, but she kept it stashed away at the back of her sock drawer, taking it out and reading it over and over whenever she felt scared.

For the first few weeks after she got home she'd been a mess. Not just physically bruised and broken, but mentally a wreck as well. She jumped at every noise, avoided going out whenever possible, withdrew from family and friends; and the worst part was, she couldn't tell anyone the truth. She had tried, but no one believed her, thinking the 'vampire' story was just a way for Blanca to cope with her kidnapping. She used to see demons and monsters all around her, but it was just her troubled mind, her nightmares sneaking into her days.

After a few weeks she stopped talking about it, and after a few weeks of not talking about it, she started to feel better. Like maybe it would be OK, that maybe the world of preternatural beings hadn't actually touched her and she could pretend she'd never glimpsed such horrors and monsters. Soon she stopped looking towards her sock drawer and forgot about the card and the big black car and the brothers who'd saved her.

Life had just about returned to normal for the petite brunette. Blanca had returned to her job at the library, started seeing her friends again, and generally returned to the fun-loving girl she used to be. That is, until that one night at the bar with her girlfriends.

Her four friends had harassed Blanca all week until she agreed to go out drinking with them. She was still uncomfortable around strangers and at night in general, but she agreed and decided to give it her best shot at having a good time.

The bar was dark and crowded and the drinks were plentiful. Blanca relaxed a little more with each shot of tequila, savoring the calm that crept through her pushing the paranoia further away. Blanca had missed this: being with her friends, laughing and talking and not thinking about the dangers that might be lurking behind every face she saw.

Her friend Carmen had found a dangerous looking face and spent the night flirting with the man from across the room. Blanca watched him with inquisitive eyes and felt that something was very off with him, but she was so drunk she figured she'd probably start seeing Big Foot soon. Still, there was something very wrong looking about that man. His skin was just a little too pale, his eyes were just a little too blue, his stare was just a little too intense. Blanca shivered every time she glanced in his direction. Something was definitely wrong, but she shoved it away, deciding she was worrying for no reason.

The night ended without incident and the ladies made their way home safely, albeit stumbling and missing a few curbs along the way. Blanca had a fun night and was determined to do it again, soon, and get on with her life.

Three days later, no one had heard from Carmen. One or two days of silence was fairly normal, she and her boyfriend Jason would haul up together for a few days and turn off the world for a while. But three days was too many. Blanca began to worry and her thoughts went straight to the worst case, her memories bringing up the face of that dangerous looking man from the bar. It felt likedeja-vu, like she knew his face; but that wasn't possible, was it?

"So you haven't heard from her at all?" Blanca asked the girls through their group Facebook message.

"Nope. Not since last Friday." Jenna answered.

Jennifer sent a frowny-faced emoji, "No, and she didn't show up for work Saturday morning. She's probably just hauled up with Jason somewhere."

"I don't know. This isn't like her at all." Blanca said, typing quickly on her smart phone. "Let me know if anyone sees her."

Blanca stopped by Carmen's apartment on the way home from work that afternoon. It was empty, no lights on, no answer at the door. She walked around the outside of the first floor apartment and peeked into the bedroom window. The curtain was pulled back a bit in the middle and she could see no one was there. But the bed was a mess, sheets and blanket thrown on the floor, and something dark on the pillow – was that blood? Blanca stepped back, panic rising slowly in the back of her throat. She closed her eyes and pushed it down deep. _No, it's fine. There's an explanation for that. And maybe it's not blood, maybe it's just… who knows, but it can't be blood._ Blanca shook her head and made her choice: she couldn't ignore that stain on the pillow. She had to know; after all, Carmen was one of her best friends – she could be in trouble. Glancing around her Blanca stepped up to the window and pushed it up slowly. It wasn't locked and opened right up. The screen was gone, and Blanca was able to push herself up and climb in, dropping slightly onto the floor. The air in the room was stale, things were thrown haphazardly around, and it was clear Carmen hadn't been here in a few days. Blanca slowly walked over to the bed and looked down at the pillow, her fingertips lightly touching the dark red stain. It was blood: a lot of blood.

Blanca fought her panic and calmly took out her phone to call the girls. She scrolled through her contacts and landed first on Carmen's face. She pressed the call button and let it ring, praying. Her stomach dropped instantly when she heard the techno style beat of Carmen's obnoxious ring tone. She turned around and saw her friend's phone on the nightstand.

Blanca paced her bedroom when she got back home. She held her phone in her hands, preparing to call the police. _But tell them what? I think a vampire followed my friend home from a bar the other night and killed her?_ The girls hadn't believed her, why would the police? Her eyes landed on her sock drawer and she went to it, reaching in and pulling out the folded white business card. She rubbed it between her fingers and sighed. _No, this is stupid, you are being stupid._ _Let the police handle it._ She thought and shoved the card back into it's hiding place.

The police did not handle it, at least not the way Blanca had hoped. They filed a missing person's report, and told Blanca they'd get back to her if anything came up. Two days after her trip to the police department, she got a call from Jenna.

"Jason's dead. They found him dead in his apartment. Throat ripped out; they think an animal got in and attacked him. Blanca, he's dead."

Blanca dropped her phone without saying a word and ran to her sock drawer.

The bunker was quiet. Dean was in his room, headphones on, relaxing after their last trip. Sam was in the library attempting to reorganize the bookshelves. It was still a mess after the Styne's rampage. They had cleaned up quickly, but things were still out of place and Sam used his free time to put things in order. He had just grabbed another stack of ancient books when his cell phone rang on the table next to him.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Sam? This is Blanca, I don't know if you remember me…um… from the… vampire thing a few months ago." Blanca's voice was shaky and she sounded very nervous.

Sam smiled, remembering the beautiful black-haired girl they had saved back in March. "Hey, yeah I remember you Blanca, of course. How are you? Everything OK?"  
"No, not really. I didn't want to bother you, but I think… I think I need your help." She said, quietly filling him in on her suspicions about Carmen.

"I'm glad you called. We'll be there as soon as we can." Sam said. "And Blanca, we'll figure it out. It'll be OK."

Blanca sighed, finally relaxing a little, "Thank you Sam. See you soon."

Soon was a few days later. Sam had called Blanca and asked her to meet them at the Broadway Diner downtown. The brothers were already seated and she saw them as soon as she walked in. They were just as she remembered them: tall and handsome and covered in plaid. Sam stood up as Blanca approached and smiled.

"Hey, it's good to see you." He said, looking down at her. He awkwardly leaned down and gave her a quick hug that made Blanca laugh.

"Nice to see you too. Hi Dean." She said, following Sam into the booth and sitting across from the older brother.

"Hi." Dean answered. "So you think your friend was taken like you were?" He asked, getting right to the point.

Blanca nodded in reply. "I think so. I know something really bad happened. And now her boyfriend is dead. I really don't think an animal got into his third floor apartment and killed him."

"No, it wasn't an animal. We saw his body. It was a vampire attack." Sam said quietly.

Blanca drew in a quick breath and looked out the window past Sam. "I knew it. I knew that guy was overly creepy. I should have said something sooner. I'm so stupid." Blanca said quickly, shaking her head, annoyed with herself. "Wait, how did you see the body?"

Dean laughed, "We have magic badges." He pulled out his FBI badge and handed it to Blanca.

She looked down at it and smiled. "Wow, FBI. That's pretty fancy. I guess that gets you farther than your 'vigilante hunter' badge, huh?"

Sam laughed and Dean grabbed his ID back and shoved it in his jacket. "Yeah, well, it works."

"So what do we do now?" She asked, glancing between the boys with big brown eyes.

"We? No, not we." Dean said, a finger circling around to the three of them. "We…" He pointed to just Sam and himself. "What we do next is find the nest and find your friend."

"I'm coming with you." Blanca said flat out.

"No, you're not"

Blanca leaned forward and sneered at Dean. "My friend was taken and is probably dead. I am going to help get her back." She said.

Dean moved forward to meet her glare head on. "And what if we find your friend and she's not your friend anymore? What if she got turned? Then what will you do?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably in the booth. "Dean, come on."

"No Sammy, she needs to know what we're dealing with." Dean shrugged off his brother's sympathetic look and turned back to the girl in front of him. "You gonna be able to kill her? Or let us do it? You wanna see that? Your friend dead?"

Blanca sat back against the booth and thought about this. "If we can save her, we save her. If she's already gone…" Blanca said, "Then she's gone and we take care of it." 


	3. Chapter 3

"You guys act like this has never happened before." Blanca opened the door to her house and escorted the Winchesters inside. The house wasn't huge, but it wasn't all that small either. The door opened into a foyer with a long staircase to the left and living room, kitchen and dining room to the right.

Sam smiled and shrugged following Blanca inside, "We can usually find a cheap motel nearby."

"Well you are S.O.L. on that, sorry." She turned the light on and stepped all the way in.

"Nice place." Dean said, dropping his duffle bag in the middle of the floor.

"Thanks, my parent's left it to me." She motioned up the stairs, "So, um… pick any room but the first one on the left. That one's mine. I'm gonna go raid the kitchen and look for something for dinner."

"Thank you Blanca." Sam said, smiling as he watched her walk off towards the kitchen.

"Dude, this isn't good." Dean said, shaking his head.

"What are you talking about? There's no place to stay in town." Sam argued quietly so their host wouldn't hear.

Dean sneered at his little brother, "Then we go out of town. We're only here 'cause you want to finish what you started back in March. That's a long and stupid way to go for a booty call."

It was Sam's turn to sneer. "You've gone a lot further. And that's not what this is about! There are vampires!"

"There are other hunters. Not like we're not busy with other things Sam."

"I want to help her. She's my responsibility."

Dean stepped towards his brother, glaring up into his face and pointing a finger at his chest. "I'm glad you see it like that. 'Cause when we're out there killing the monsters, you'll have to be the one to watch her. Ain't gonna be me!" Dean grabbed his duffle and climbed the stairs leaving Sam to stew.

There wasn't much food in the house so she had ordered pizza. The guys didn't seem to mind and they ate at the kitchen table, surrounded by the heavy air of awkward silence; Blanca and Sam catching each other's eyes often, and Dean rolling his. He was not quiet about his uneasiness of having company on this hunt, especially an untrained civilian who had been the victim of a vampire attack herself. But Sam thought she was strong enough to handle herself, and he'd keep an eye on her.

"So what do we need, like crosses and garlic and wooden stakes and stuff?" Blanca asked, turning the faucet on to wash their dishes.

"No, just a really big knife." Dean answered, dropping his plate by the sink and grumbling. "I'm gonna go out and try to pick up a trail."

"OK, let me get my coat." Sam offered.

"No, you… stay here. I'll call if I need you." Dean said, shrugging on his gray army surplus jacket and heading for the door.

Sam sighed and smiled at Blanca, "Sorry about my brother. He's…"

"Cranky?"

"Yeah. He is." Sam laughed. "He's just tired. It's been a long…life."

Blanca looked Sam over. "I can't imagine." She said, "How are _you_?"

Sam smiled nervously. "I'm fine. Happy to see you again." His hazel eyes locked into hers and she looked away quickly.

"Yeah, about that… that was weird. The kiss, I mean. I was not myself. I'm sorry." Blanca shoved her hands into her back pockets and rocked on her heels, trying to figure out how to make the situation less awkward. They had kissed, and it had been amazing. And it's not like she didn't think about doing it again, especially now with Sam standing alone in her kitchen looking relaxed and handsome; and now that she wasn't bleeding all over the place with her head bashed in.

Sam shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Oh, hey, you don't have to apologize for that. I was there too." He said, trying to look anywhere but at her lips. He hadn't stopped thinking about the kiss since the day she called.

The silence between them went on way too long and Blanca cleared her throat, breaking the spell and returning to the problem at hand. "So, no wooden stakes huh?"

Sam smiled "No. That's a myth. Decapitation is the way to go here."

"Oh that's lovely" Blanca cringed. "I guess I missed that last time."

"Yeah, you were kinda out of it." Sam recalled. "What do you remember?"

She pulled her hands out of her pockets and rubbed them over her cheeks. "Not much. I mean, I remember things, but I don't know what's real or not so I've kind of spent the last few months pushing it out of my mind, ya know? I remember being taken and being tied up, and there were so many of them, always around." Blanca leaned back against the sink, opening doors in her memories that she had kept shut this whole time. Sam sat back down at the table and watched her as she spoke. "There were so many faces. Sometimes they would ignore me for a while and I could rest, but they always came back; they cut me, hit me. I know it was only a few days, but it felt endless. I was sure I was going to die there." She sat down at the table across from Sam. She kept her head down, black hair falling into her face as she continued. "If this is happening again, to Carmen, I… I don't know, I should have said something; I should have done something, called you sooner. I don't want to think about her tied up somewhere. And that man with the blue eyes…" Blanca stopped talking as her guilt and memories washed over her. She cried softly, still looking down at the table, tears spilling from her big brown eyes.

Sam slowly moved his hand to cover hers and she looked up at him. His expression was full of sympathy and he spoke softly as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "It's not your fault. We will find her and we'll take care of this."

"Sam, do you think she's still alive?"

He sighed and leaned closer to her, "Honestly? No, I don't. I think she was turned and if that's true, she's dead." He took her hand up off the table and held it in both of his own. "I'm so sorry Blanca. We'll have to wait and see."

The tears came out now in long streams, followed by heavy sobs that shook her tiny frame. Sam moved back from the table and sank down onto his knees in front of Blanca wrapping his long arms around her, crushing her face to his flannel-covered chest. Her arms went around him and she let it all out again, like she had back in the empty field by the side of the highway. Sam rubbed her back and rocked her gently until she calmed down a bit. Blanca sat back and looked up at him. "How do you do this everyday? How do you deal with all these monsters and horrible things?" She asked him, taking deep slow breaths to relax.

"It's just what we do." He said, not really knowing how to answer her.

Blanca leaned forward and kiss his cheek gently. Sam turned his head to return the kiss and was stopped by the ring of his cell phone in his pocket.

"Dean?" He answered.

"I got them. Not far out of town."

Sam stood up, "Ok. Send me the details," he said nodding at Blanca.

"Sammy, her friend is here." Dean said in a low voice. "And it ain't good."


	4. Chapter 4

Sam pulled Blanca's little blue Jetta up alongside the Impala and cut the engine. Blanca sat in the passenger seat, eyes wide with worry and anticipation. She knew Dean had found Carmen, but Sam hadn't told her anymore than that. She didn't know if her friend was alive or dead, or worse.

Sam turned to look at her. "You OK?" He asked, placing a hand gently on her knee.

"I feel like you keep asking me that." Blanca let out a short laugh.

"Sorry" Sam said.

"It's OK. I mean, I'm not really, but I'll be fine." She took a deep breath and looked out the window at Dean. He was leaning on the hood of the black Chevy waiting for them to emerge. She turned back to Sam and found him still watching herr, his eyes big and wondering. Blanca leaned forward and placed both her hands on his face, pulling him into a deep kiss. When she sat back Sam still had his eyes closed and a slightly shocked look glazed over his face. "What was that for?" He asked, licking his lips slightly.

"Well we seem to keep getting interrupted. I wanted to finish one just in case…" She trailed off, looking out the window again. Sam touched her shoulder bringing her attention back to him.

"Hey, It's gonna be OK. I'm gonna keep you safe."

She nodded, "Let's go find Carmen." She said, opening her door.

Dean was still very against bringing Blanca inside the nest, but since she was determined to come he'd given her a quick list of _Dos and Don'ts,_ mostly _Don'ts._ Do not run off. Do not put your guard down. Do not assume you are safe at all. Do not assume we are getting your friend out unharmed. Do no panic. Do not freak out and freeze up. Do swing hard at anything coming at you.

Blanca held the sharpened machete in her tiny hands and focused on every word Dean said, nodding and silently agreeing, knowing full well what a stupid idea this was. She had a slight moment of hesitation when Dean asked: "Are you absolutely sure I can't force you to wait in the car?"

Blanca closed her eyes and thought about her friend. She saw Carmen and The Blue-Eyed Man from the bar. She saw the place where she'd been held all those months ago. She saw the vampires and felt the pain and blood draining from her veins.

She opened her eyes and looked into Dean's face with angry determination. "Let's go."

* * *

The vamps were hauled up in an old farmhouse set back about a thousand feet from the road. The trip left their cards a mile down the highway where they had met and made their way, armed and ready, to the house on foot.

"Shouldn't we be doing this in the daytime?" Blanca asked Sam, peering at the pink sky ahead of them. The sun was setting slowly, the air was cooling off: night approached.

"We're going with the surprise angle." Sam answered, giving her his best reassuring smile.

"I counted four vamps earlier, maybe one more, looked like the master. And at least three girls tied up in the cellar." Dean informed them in a low hushed voice as they made their final approach to the old house. Blanca followed Dean, Sam closely behind her. With each step her heart beat louder in her chest, her pulse pounding in her ears. She gripped the long silver knife in front of her, knuckles white against the hilt. Dean stopped and crouched down on the side of the house next to a small half window that looked into the cellar. He gestured for Blanca to come close. She leaned forward, ears straining to hear his whispered instructions.

"You need to crawl in here and go around the back to let Sam in the cellar door. It's bolted from the inside. You two get those girls out and I'll start with the bastards upstairs." he said. Sam nodded and Blanca stared at him, frozen and unresponsive, the realization of her choice to be there finally sinking in.

"Hey!" Dean snapped, voice low and gravely. "Hey! You do not get to do this now! Later you can freak out, now- now you focus, and fight."

Sam moved over a bit, his hand reached out and touched Blanca's shoulder. She jumped and met his eye. He nodded at her "You can do this. I'm with you. Let's get Carmen." Blanca blinked and willed herself to move. Sam held the window open and she lowered herself down into the darkness.

The sun hadn't set completely and there was still some pink light leaking in through the window that she had just slid through. Blanca couldn't decide if she was happy about that or not. The room she entered was damp and filthy. It looked to be an old root cellar, the walls were crumbling and seemed held together by ancient mud. The floor was mostly dirt, by age of design, and the air smelled foul: like death and human decay.

Blanca pushed herself to move: she had to let Sam in. She left the first room and found a short hallway. To her left was a staircase and another room, to her right, two more doors and the cellar hatch where Sam was waiting. She ran to it, passing an open door that lead to a room that looked like the one she'd arrived in, except in this new room she saw two girls standing, dropped against the walls, arms tied high above their heads. The sight made her shudder, flooding her mind with memories of when she had been shackled to a wall very much like that one.

A faint knocking sound dragged her from her mind and she ran to let Sam in.

Blanca threw back the thick heavy bolt, the door swung out and open allowing the tall Winchester to run down the few crumbling steps to where Blanca stood.

"You OK?" He asked again.

"Do you really want an answer to that?!" Blanca yelled in the lowest voice she could.

Sam threw her a tiny smile and started walking down the dark hallway. Blanca patted his arm and bade him follow her to the hanging girls.

Sam approached the first girl, carefully pressing two fingers to the blonde's neck. He pulled back and shook his head at Blanca, "She's gone." He mouthed, moving quickly to the next girl. The girl shuddered at his touch and her eyelids fluttered trying to open. Sam drew a knife from his belt and made quick work of her ropes, catching her as she fell. Blanca watched, reliving again the night Sam had cut her down, just like this. Had she looked so close to death as this girl? She remembered opening her dry, swollen eyes to see Sam's gently face above her, like an angel of mercy.

Sam carried the unconscious girl out of the cellar to relative safety a few dozen yards away from the house. Blanca waited inside, unsure of what to do next. She heard noises upstairs, fighting, heavy things crashing to the floor. She shut her eyes tight, praying that one of those crashes wasn't Dean.

Dean! He had said there were at least three girls down here and they'd only found two. Without waiting for Sam she walked to the next closed door, machete held high in her right hand, and pushed open the door with a rush of adrenaline. The old wooden door slammed open, crashing against the wall. Blanca rushed in only to find an empty room. She sighed with relief as another dominating thud sounded above her. "I guess Dean's doing alright up there." She thought aloud. One more door left.

Dean's voice cried out from upstairs, his yell sent ice down Blanca's back. Sam called to her from the hallway and she stepped out of the empty room to face him.

"I have to go help Dean. Get the last girl and take her outside if you can. I'll be right back." Sam said in a low rushed voice. Blanca nodded reassuringly, "Go get your brother." She looked to the closed door. "I got this. I think."

Sam smiled and ran up the creaky stairs two by two and threw open the door. Light from above cascaded down shining on Blanca's task. She ran to the illuminated door and took a deep breath; she held it and turned the ancient knob.

A girl was hung against the wall just like in the other room. She didn't look quite as bas as the other girls and Blanca could see she was breathing very slowly. She approached cautiously, reaching out to touch the girl's cheek. She moved against the touch but didn't open her eyes.

"Hey I'm gonna get you out of here. Just hold on." Blanca whispered, reaching up to try and untie the ropes that bound the girl. She pulled against the knot but couldn't get it to move. She brought the giant blade up and cut through the rope, the poor girl fell forward to the floor. Blanca dropped the machete and knelt down to pick her up. She heard the door at the top of the stairs slam shut and footsteps descending towards her. Hoping it was a Winchester come to help, Blanca stuck her head out the door and peered at the staircase.

"Oh my God!" She cried, "Carmen!" Blanca stared at her friend in shock. She wasn't dead, she wasn't dying, and in fact she looked completely fine.

"Hello Blanca." Carmen said, a faint sneer on her dark lips.

"Carmen! We came to get your out of here. Are you OK?" Blanca stepped out of the room and towards her friend.

"I'm just fine sweetie. Not like your friends upstairs." Carmen laughed, nodding towards the steps behind her.

"Sam?" Blanca gasped, her stomach dropping with panic.

"Oh, is he the hottie we tied up in the kitchen or the tall one I just knocked out?"

The blood drained from Blanca's face and her knees buckled. She forced herself to stay standing, just a few feet away from the monster her friend had become. She looked back into the room, her weapon discarded against the wall, too far from her reach. Her hands began to shake but she set her jaw and balled her fist, remembering Dean's command: Freak out later, Fight now.

"What did they do to you?" Blanca asked, stepping backwards very slowly to the door, trying to distract the vampire before her.

"What did they do? They opened the world for me! I can't tell you how good it feels, how amazing it is not to be afraid anymore, not to be a sad little girl anymore. Now I'm strong and powerful, " Carmen said, eyes wild, matching each of Blanca's steps; never letting her move to far away. "I can do anything. I'm…"

"A monster." Blanca said, stopping right inside the door, just a few feet more and she'd reach her blade.

Carmen hung her head as if sad and laughed. "A monster?" She said, "Maybe. You'll just have to see for yourself." She smiled wildly and lunged forward, hands missing Blanca by a fraction of an inch.

Blanca ran towards her knife, turning her back on Carmen. She knew instantly it was a mistake, shrieking loudly as Carmen's cold hands grabbed her arm, wrenching it backwards. Blanca used the force of being pulled to spin around, landing a fist against Carmen's cheek. Pain flashed through her hand but Carmen barely flinched; she grabbed Blanca by the throat and pushed her back, smacking her against the wall, dust falling around them. Blanca twisted and turned and clawed trying to get away, but she was just too small and Carmen had her pinned. She looked down at the blade abandoned at her feet. She kicked at it, but it was no use: she was stuck, her friend was a monster, and Sam was probably dead on the floor above her. An uninvited tear rolled down Blanca's face, revealing her defeat.

Carmen laughed again. "You shouldn't have come here." She said, squeezing the hard around Blanca's neck.

She gasped for air, nails scratching at Carmen's hands and face. She managed to squeak out a very faint call for Sam as darkness began to shrink her vision.

Carmen threw her head back and opened her mouth. Blanca watched in horror as rows of razor-sharp teeth descended from her gums. She removed the hand from Blanca's neck, grabbing her hair instead and forcing her head to the side. She leaned down and ripped into Blanca's neck. She screamed for Sam one last time using all her strength, all the air in her lungs.

Carmen sneered, her words were hot against Blanca's skin, her voice wet and thick with blood. "He's not coming Blanca. He's dead."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Sam's voice ran in Blanca's ears and she cried out in relief, eyes flashing open to see her savior standing in the open doorway. He was a mess, flannel shirt ripped and bloody, hair messed and dripping with sweat. But he was alive, and he was there, and he was pissed. Fire flared behind his hazel eyes as Carmen dropped her grip on Blanca, turned to face the tall hunter.

It was over in a second: Carmen turned, Sam swung, and Carmen fell; her head rolling a few feet away into the shadows of the dark room.

Blanca slumped down against the wall. Sam ran to her, pulling a bandanna from his back pocket and pressing it to her bleeding neck. She smiled at him, light headed and dizzy.

"You're not gonna ask me if I'm OK, are you?" She said softly.

Sam chuckled and pulled her into a big hug. "Let's get out of here, huh?"

* * *

Dean was fine. As he told it, he let the two vamps tie him up so he could catch them off guard. Blanca didn't exactly believe that, but they were alive, so what did it matter?

It turned out he did have some factual information: The Blue-Eyed Man from the bar that took Carmen was the master vampire who had also sired the nest that had captured Blanca back in March. This nest was his latest attempt at creating a monster family; Carmen had been his newest acquisition. Dean told Blanca proudly that he had taken the head off the Blue-Eyed Man himself and that was that.

They debriefed and cleaned up back at Blanca's house after dropping the two girls at the hospital.

Sam patched Blanca's wound for the second time, sitting on the old brown couch in her living room. This time however, they didn't break way from the kiss when Dean walked in carrying a fresh beer for each of them. He simply set the bottles down on the coffee table and walked back to the kitchen.

They stayed like that for some time, kissing gently but deeply, hands grasping arms and necks and running through each other's hair. They broke away finally when Dean returned to watch the television. They ignored Dean, just sitting together, holding each other, calm and safe.

They fell asleep like that, cuddled on the couch. Dean threw a blanket over them and retreated upstairs alone.

The sun leaked through the living room windows hitting Blanca right in the face, waking her up. She squirmed and opened an eye, her arms still wrapped tightly around Sam's warm chest.

"Good morning" he said, placing a tiny kiss on her head.

She sat up and smiled "Hey Sam." She kissed his lips softly and took a deep breath. The smell of coffee drifted past them.

Dean was dancing around the stove when Sam and Blanca walked in, each taking a seat at the little table.

"Hope you don't mind, I made breakfast. Figured we should eat before we hit the road." Dean said, placing a platter of scrambled eggs and bacon in the center of the table.

Blanca laughed, noticing that Dean was wearing her pink frilly apron around his waist. "Not at all, looks great."

The three ate greedily, talking and laughing like old friends, the boys telling Blanca stories of pranks and hunting mishaps to make her laugh; no one mentioning the farewell that was fast approaching.

* * *

The bags were stored safely in the trunk, the Impala's engine purring loudly in front of Blanca's house.

"Thank you Dean." Blanca said as she pulled him down into a quick hug.

"Stay safe kid. I don't want to come back here anytime soon." Dean joked, smirking at her. "No offense," he laughed.

"Get out of my house Dean." She tease and he turned on his heels, dancing to the car. He waved and got in.

Sam stood at the foot of the steps and looked at Blanca awkwardly. They hadn't talked about it, but they both knew it was the last time they'd see each other. And it was OK, it really was. "So…" He began.

She stood two steps above him and still had to go up on her toes to reach Sam's neck, pulling him into one last kiss.

It said 'I want you but I know you have to go.' It said 'I'll always remember you.' It said 'Thank you'. It said 'Goodbye.'

"See you later Sam." She said, releasing The Tall Handsome One.

He smiled and nodded and walked silently to the big black car

 ** _The End._**


End file.
